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Talent Management

Talent Mobility as a Business Practice

Talent mobility. It’s an evolving talent practice that delivers incredible value for the workforce and the business, and it gives the organization a powerful competitive edge. At the same time, many employers still aren’t sure how to define this practice and what might be involved, so we’re going to break that down for you today by exploring what it is, how the research proves out the value, and how technology plays a role in making it all come together.

What is Talent Mobility?

The concept of talent mobility is relatively new, but it’s made up of familiar terms. Talent mobility is a more holistic approach to managing talent than just relying on an executive-driven succession plan or an ad hoc method for promoting employees to higher levels of responsibility. In addition, talent mobility considers the aspirations and interests of the individual employee as well, creating engagement opportunities by meeting the needs of individual workers.

By being more inclusive of these options when considering the bigger picture, employers can not only find more opportunities to grow and develop their workforce--the employees respond with greater productivity and performance.

Research Proves the Value of Mobility

Did you know that external hires often have lower performance scores and cost more money than internally hired candidates? Were you aware that nine out of ten of your workers are open to considering other job opportunities? These are just two of the factors that explain why talent mobility is so incredibly important to the business, but it doesn’t stop there.

For instance, a recent study by the University of Phoenix pointed out that a third of employees are asking for development at work, but they aren’t confident in the firm’s development program to adequately prepare them for the challenges ahead. Additionally, that same study showed that one in three hiring managers plan to create cross-functional learning opportunities to improve innovation.

Each of these pieces of research builds a business case for creating a streamlined program designed to grow and develop workers into more valuable assets for the organization. In the graphic below we outline three key areas where talent mobility can have a greater organizational impact.

Technology’s Role in the Process

Hopefully, by now you understand the value of talent mobility for workers and the business, but how does a company get started? In recent years technology has played a key factor in driving talent mobility performance because it allows employers to get a more granular look at the skills and competencies of available talent. Imagine trying to track the skills of thousands of employees manually. For starters, skills are dynamic, not static. Also, there’s no way to know if all skills have been captured, because many times they can lie beneath the surface unless they are required in an existing role. For these reasons, software is the best way to track and manage talent pools based on competencies.

In addition, technology can help to facilitate conversations between workers and their leaders, because it can offer up customized career pathing. If Jamie wants to move into a more senior role, the technology can illuminate any missing skills that would be necessary for the promotion. Or if Lesley has an interest in moving laterally into a related position, the platform can show what steps are needed to make the move. If businesses are relying solely on managers to have these conversations and open up these opportunities, they are missing out, because our research with hundreds of HR executives shows that managers just aren’t that great at having career development conversations.

If this topic is of interest and you’d like to bring talent mobility to your organization, I would love to have you join me for an upcoming webinar to explore the concept more deeply. In addition, I’ll give you half a dozen case studies to help you understand how other companies are putting this practice into action, creating value for the workforce and the rest of the business stakeholders. Together we can create a more engaging workplace, retaining your best performers and growing them to higher levels of success.

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Ben Eubanks

Article by:

Principal Analyst of Lighthouse Research & Advisory

An analyst specializing in actionable insights, Ben keeps tabs on key trends in talent acquisition, learning, and workforce technologies. Through primary research and deep analysis, he keeps today’s business leaders in touch with important conversations and emerging trends in the rapidly changing world of talent.